Palms West Monthly • July 2011 • Page 1
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Palms West
Aiding man’s best friend
School Bulletin
Majorette Celebration Wellington Landings Majorettes celebrate year at awards banquet. PAGE 14 Volume 1, Number 2
Monthly Mon Goodbye, Kmart
A fixture in the Western Communities for more than 20 years, the retail store has signed over its lease to Burlington Coat Factory.
Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League has opened its doors to dozens of shelter dogs from flood-stricken areas of the country.
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Serving Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Loxahatchee Groves and The Acreage with news, happenings and entertainment
The former Seminole Ridge standout has moved on to the college level, where he’s mastering the mental aspects of the game.
A local group of parents are working to raise funds to create a memorial garden where parents who have lost children can grieve, meditate, find peace and experience hope. The Angel of Hope Children’s Memorial Garden will be built on land inside Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery in Royal Palm Beach.
Happy 4th of July!
Looking for some exciting family fun this July 4th? Find out the best places to enjoy great food, take part in a fishing tournament, see a mini rodeo, enjoy dazzling fireworks and a whole lot more.
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Florida Stage files for bankruptcy
INSIDE Local Happenings ...................4 In Brief................................6 Nice and Easy ........................8 Manely Speaking.....................9 Arts & Entertainment ............ 10 School Bulletin .................... 14 Just For the Fun of It ..............16 Outside The Neighborhood .......17 Classifieds ...........................19 PalmsWestMonthly.com
‘Uprecedented’ lack of rainfall sparks wildfires, wilts crops
By FOLEY WALKER Neighborhood News Group
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Drought
Indian Trail Improvement District Administrator Tanya Quickel says several small wildfires have broken out in The Acreage.
Raising hope
The decision was based upon a marked downturn in subscription sales for its upcoming season and slow ticket sales for the summer production of “ELLA.”
July 2011
Photo by Robert Harris/Neighborhood News Group
Joe Rubiano III, home for the summer after just finishing up his freshman year pitching for John Carroll University in Ohio, demonstrates his four-seam fastball before starting a game for American Legion Post 367.
Living the Dream By ANGIE FRANCALANCIA Neighborhood News Group
ROYAL PALM BEACH — To say he was born to play baseball might be stretching things a bit. But if he wasn’t born into it, Joe Rubiano III never knew life without it. And today, he’s living the dream of many young athletes as a college baseball pitcher. “I actually started playing ball in the backyard at three years old,” Rubiano said. The oldest of three children and
the only boy, Rubiano was playing catch with his dad before he was old enough to join any team. A year ago, the Seminole Ridge High School Class of 2010 graduate headed for John Carroll University in Ohio to pitch for the Blue Streaks. The school with about 4,000 students – not much bigger than Seminole Ridge – was an inviting college home with a tight-knit team where he was sure to see time on the
mound his freshman year. The Royal Palm Beach athlete is home for the summer. He took time out from a schedule of work, conditioning and, of course, more baseball, to chat about the sport he loves, college life, and being on his own for the first time. “I’d always wanted to go to college to play baseball,” Rubiano said. Heading to Ohio from Florida to play a spring SEE PITCHER / PAGE 12
A severe drought across vast swaths of Florida is wilting crops, sparking wildfires and sinking Lake Okeechobee to historically low levels, and Palm Beach County is the hardest-hit area in the entire state. The majority of the state is experiencing the drought, prompted by La Niña conditions characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures that are causing similar dry spells across the southern U.S., from New Mexico all the way to the Atlantic coast and north to Delaware. “This one seems to be a different beast,” said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of NebraskaLincoln. “I think we’re going to see things probably get worse before we see improvement.” A drought report issued June 21 by the South Florida Water Management District indicated that the 16-county area of central and southern Florida it administers has seen a total of only 14.81 inches of rainfall since Oct. 2 – 12.44 inches below normal levels. But eastern Palm Beach County specifically has seen only 13.08 inches in that period, 18.53 inches less than it normally receives. Gabe Margasak, a spokesman for the SFWMD, said the local deficit is unprecedented in the 80-some years records have been kept in the area. “That’s a serious lack of rainfall,” he said. “Residents see their canals are lower, the water catchment areas are lower; what this means is that water conservation is more important than ever to help protect our water SEE DROUGHT / PAGE 13